How Cute is my Husband

So last night when I got home this lovely little sheet of paper was waiting for me. My husband, Tim, has drawn me some quilt patterns off the top of his head. I was surprised that he came up with some traditional patterns (he's seen me cutting and knows what angles I can do). But I LOVE the chain links, I've never seen it before. Wouldn't it be cute on a white/light background with each chain a different color? Or it could be pieced for a border if he'll draw it for me with corners.

So fun,

Codi

Look Away!

Try to scroll past really fast so you don't get hurt. Here are the blocks...
and here it is with borders before I attached the backing. The fabric on the border is really cute, but doesn't help since its busy too.

GAAHHH!!!! Its Hideous!!!

It might be too bad for pictures, I don't know yet, although it didn't break my camera so there is hope. It looks so bad, the colors are terrible, and there's no flow, nothing nice, unless you only look really close at one or two fabrics at a time, then it might be ok. You don't want to see it. Trust me, it might contain a virus and break your computer. I am practicing hand quilting in a hoop on this thing, and man that is hard when you're trying not to look, but its seriously UGLY. It might need to be put out of its misery, or locked away in a tower, never to be seen again. I'm not quite sure yet, but I know that my crappy quilting will perfectly match this horrible top.

And the backing fabric! I do have to post the backing, which was $2 a yard on clearance, and looked ok in the store ($2 a yard and I'm trying to get a stash together, it sounded perfect and I bought a yard) but once it made it home, and I saw it natural light, I realised, of all the fabric on clearance, this one was supposed to be there. It was also asking to be a part of the sampler. It wanted to. Knowing it would be put in a corner, not even getting the selvage cut off or the sides evened up, it wanted to have some friends. So I used it, and although it knows it will eventually be put away from human eyes, at least it won't be lonely. Plus, I didn't have to use something nice for the backing. Actually, if this little bit hadn't talked me into it, I'd have stopped once the top was pieced. Maybe I should thank it for giving me the practice. I'm not sure tho.

Pictures to come! If I work up the courage.......

Codi

Funky sampler blocks

These are not all the same size, and I had too many for one post so I'm missing a star and a tree, but here are my sampler blocks. I finished this boat this morning.


This one (above) is the very first block, I didn't have to take anything apart and I was very happy about that. And I love the color combo for the 9 patch, it pops so nicely even tho I wasn't trying.
I am pretty sure this will look rather funky when I get it together, I might do the last block tomorrow before work if I get up I time, and then I will post a pic of the whole thing. I am actually using a pretty fabric for the borders, because it was what I had when I started and I already cut it. I will probably use some muslin for the backing that I have in a drawer, so I don't use up something pretty. And I need to buy some batting.

This week's progress

Yesterday I went to the fabric store and raided the clearance section, so I had to make room for more fabric, and I found some really cute stuff, so I had to reclaim 2 of these shelves for my fabric.
And here is my pressing/ironing/cutting station, which also hold my denim scraps in one of the drawers, and some more fabric in another, but its canvas and stretchy stuff so it can stay in the drawer for now.
Obviously this is my sewing table.
And I put some more blocks up on the wall, I really love seeing it all together, it makes me want to finish. I think I'll have to play around with the lights and darks so its not lopsided. I think I will take this to work this weekend, while I'm sitting in my office answering phones.

I have also been working on my bad color choices sampler, although sometimes I actually end up with pieces next to each other that look pretty. But the over all blocks are kinda crazy. I only have one more to do then I will add the borders and binding, then i will figure out how to quilt it. I'm still stuck on that one.

I've been thinking about not using batting on the crazy quilt, since its denim, and heavy already. I would probably just do a cotton or flannel backing, then quilt it. I live in So Cal so it stays pretty warm here and I'd like to use this quilt not box it for being too hot.

More pics

This is the back of a completed block, I'm now kind of sad I used a pretty fabric now that I've started piecing a sampler. By the way, I'm piecing a sampler, using what I have in my meager stash (there is a picture further down) and paying no attention whatsoever to colors.
Here is the top of a block with some peter pan quotes and a butterfly I love, I don't know why the back is first but whatever.
This is the stash, partially held by a punch bowl. My cutting and ironing zone is the top of a long dresser, which is just the right height, and I have my rulers and rotary cutting mat hanging on the wall when I'm not using them.

Thanks for reading, whoever you are!
Codi

Pictures!!

Here are a few pics of my quilt, I don't have it all laid out right now, but you can get the idea of what I'm going for here. Also, none of these show a complete block, so I'll have to take a picture of that too.

Codi

Very First Post

Well, First of all, I've never blogged before, but I've been reading some other quilting blogs here and there, and I love them, so I thought I'd start my own. So here's me.

I'm Codi, I am 22, married for 2 months, and setting up an actual room entirely devoted to being crafty. I'm so excited about my room, it has all my craft stuff in one area, and spread out so I can find it or just see whats there. Huge improvement from the 3 huge plastic bins everything was in before, I love it. I have been crocheting since Jr. high school, and I make scarves and beanies, cause those go fast, and I do a lot of baby blankets, I love giving those away, and my largest piece I made for my honey when we were dating, was a twin sized afghan I made my own pattern for, I love it. I've tried knitting, but I crochet so much faster its never stuck with me, and I've had various sewing projects here and there.

I've been working on a gorgeous, don't-know-what-on-earth-I'm-doing crazy quilt, using a couple years worth of old jeans of mine, and a few stolen from sibs goodwill bags. There will be 30 blocks total, making a king size bed spread, and I am using Fat quarters to piece my patches on the blocks. Once I have them pieced I am embroidering the raw edges (raw edges being nicer to my machine and fingers than trying to get through all those edges folded together). I am also stitching in some quotes from favorite books and Bible verses, and putting something pretty whenever I feel like it. Its a beast of a thing for a very first ever quilt project, and I love it, but I should have started smaller I think. Go big or go home I guess. Also, I started this quilt in November 2006 thinking it would be finished by summer (2007), then by my wedding, which was 2 months ago.

Anyhoo, I need to piece 7 more blocks, and prettify about 20, then join them all and hope they even out somehow. Didn't realise fat quarters are not all cut to the same exact size at the start, so all the blocks are different sizes. Luckily I'm not a perfectionist and no ones going to notice if my edges are funky right? I can fix that later right?

I also bought my first rotary cutter the other day, and was very excited because they were on clearance since no one wanted the flowery ones (I guess). So I bought 2, and together they were still cheaper than a replacement blade, woo for the clearance rack. I also picked up a mat and 2 rulers, but those I had to pay for. I've never seen those things on sale, but I shopped around for a while, and they're all the same price. I still don't know how (or when for that matter) I'll finish this behemoth, but I'm very optimistic that someday it will be on my bed, in one finished piece.

Anyone who knows where to get a quilt frame for a reasonable price, and reasonable is free, or less than $200, let me know. I really want a Grace z44, so I don't have to baste it, (I will definitely be hand quilting this thing, I'd just rather get it all off the floor and not use a hoop or those PVC frames) but the $300 I found it for is still too much. I'm praying for it, but at the rate I'm going with this quilt I've got some time yet.

Pictures will be posted, I promise, I need to start documenting this quilt anyway, so there will be pictures, but probably on monday since I work all weekend.